Through the Eyes of an Outsider
by curlycarly113
Summary: Athena thought she was just an extraordinarily smart Muggle. Turns out she is actually an even smarter witch. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child-compliant. The story through the eyes of an outsider, plus a few of her own adventures as well. (will include bits of Albus/Scorpius)
1. Prolouge

**Hi All!**

 **I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a while now of a muggle girl who discovers the magical world. Then Cursed Child came out, and (while it has it's obvious faults) the idea that my girl would be a witch in Albus's year caught my attention and encouraged me to finally write my story!**

 **I plan to go through all seven years of Hogwarts. I already have most of Year One done, but I'm looking for a Beta Reader (mostly to get feedback from), so if your interested in Beta Reading, PM me!**

 **(obviously I don't own harry potter or any of it's characters)**

* * *

 **Prologue**

* * *

My name is Athena. My mother named me that because she said my father reminded her of a Greek god. Of course, I was the result of a one night stand, and my mother rarely ever mentions my father.

My mum wasn't around a lot. Instead, I would spend my days with Mrs. Applebaum from across the hall. Mrs. Applebaum was a little old lady. Her husband had past and her children rarely visited her. But she treated me as her own. She taught me everything, from how to walk and speak, to reading and writing. I was only 4 when I started to read books on my own.

But soon after I turned 5, Mrs. Applebaum got sick and couldn't take care of me anymore.

My mother and I weren't close, even as a 5 year old I knew that wasn't usual. So instead of trying to be my mum again, my mother walked me to the local public library, got me my own library card, gave me 10 pounds for lunch and dinner and told me I was old enough to take care of myself during the days. She did say to be home by sundown because the streets weren't safe at night, so maybe she did care a little about my wellbeing. At least a little.

So that became my routine. I would wake up and my mom would either be gone or passed out in her bed. Sometimes she left me a five or tener on the counter, but usually if she was passed out, she forgot. That got me into the habit of saving most of the money.

I would go to the library everyday and read. I started with the kid section. My favorite book was Matilda. I was still waiting for the day that I would be swept away by a Ms. Honey of my own, or develop magic powers because I was so smart. But I knew better than that and eventually I grew out of the kids section all together and moved onto the adult section of the library. Except Matilda, I would never grow out of Matilda.

* * *

By the summer of 2015, I was 7. I had gotten good at blending into a crowd or hiding in plain sight, which was useful, since most people were concerned when they saw a child on their own.

The sun didn't set until late, meaning that I had lots of time before I had to go home. And the library was too stuffy in the summer, meaning that I usually entertained myself by people watching outside.

I had just bought some apples for lunch and I was hiding near an old run down building that I rarely saw people enter. The walls and windows were black and dusty and the sign was so faded I couldn't read it. But today for some reason I saw multiple families walk into that building. It was weird, and it didn't seem like a place for children, but it caught my attention.

I saw another family approach, a pair of parents with three kids.

"Dad, can you get me a broom? I want to try out for the quidditch team," the oldest boy asked.

I had no idea what quidditch was, or why any child would want a broom. Did he like cleaning?

"James, you know first years are not allowed to have their own brooms" the mom answer.

"But dad got his first broom when he was a first year."

The family was interesting, and was entering the dirty building.

I was easy enough to follow them. Nobody noticed that I slipped right in after. I was pretty good at staying out of site, and anyone who saw me might think I was part of the family.

The building looked like a bar, but it's inhabitants we're different then any bar inhabitants that I had seen before. They were all in weird cloaks. The inside matched the appearance of the outside, but it didn't seem like the place for a nice looking family.

But the parents didn't seem like they were planning on staying. They said 'Hi' to a few people on their way to the back of the room. I tried to follow closely, without catching their attention.

They walked to the back of the building, and I tried watching from around the corner. The father tapped a brick wall with a stick, and all of a sudden the wall started opening up. I was shocked, but no one in the family seemed surprised as they all walked through. I quickly walked through behind them before the wall started closing up.

What was this place? There was a whole row of shops that I had never seen before. And everyone was wearing such funny clothes. Did anyone else know that this was in London?

'Diagon Alley'

That's what a sign read. I quickly forgot about the family that I was following. I was distracted by the sights around me. What was this place.

I started walking down the road, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw the strangest things. Owls and broomsticks and cauldrons were in the windows. And I could have sworn that I saw a stack of books levitating somewhere in the distance. It reminded me of Matilda.

"Come on James, let's get your school robes"

"But mom, I want to get my wand first "

"Albus, stop chasing your sister. Harry, can you go after them? James, robes first. Then wand" "Fine"

It was the family I had followed into this place. The two children and father had walked to what looked like an ice cream shop. I followed them inside.

There were so many flavors. I didn't usually like to splurge on sweets, but the ice cream looked too good.

"Lily, you can't have all the flavors. Choose one."

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a fiver.

"You won't be able to use that money here." It was the boy who had chased his little sister into this shop. I think his mom called him Albus. "Your mum or dad will have to exchange it for Galleons at Gringotts, over there." He pointed to the large building at the end of the road. It looked daunting, and I didn't have a parent to exchange money for me. I think my worry showed on my face, because then Albus said, "Here, your ice cream is on me," and he handed me a gold coin, before he ran forward to his dad and sister to order his own.

I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't want to take anyone's money. But then again I did want ice cream. I took another look at the coin. It was weird, not like a pound or any money I'd ever seen used in London. He did call it something. A Galleon?

I used the money to buy a cone, and I was going to give the boy back his change, but his family had left the store.

After enjoying my cone, I walked back out to the street, but I stopped in front of a bookstore. 'Flourish and Blotts' said the sign above the door. I practically lived in my local library, so bookstores were like a second home to me. I walked inside and I was wowed by the amount of books they had. The building did not look this big on the outside. At my local library, I really liked the non-fiction section. It was like my own school inside of the pages. And there were so many more things for me to read here.

* * *

So that became my new routine for the next two years. I would sneak into the dusty old bar, and follow a witch or wizard into diagon alley. I wasn't stupid, this was a world of magic. As soon as I started reading all the books in the bookstore, I quickly learned about spells and wands and the school called Hogwarts.

I never tried to buy anything after my first ice cream. I was too afraid someone would discover I wasn't magical and would kick me out forever. So instead I went to Flourish and Blotts, found a nice hiding place, and I read all the books I could find.

I really loved the books about Hogwarts. I never went to school, my mum thought the library was a good enough school for me. But I dreamed every night of getting a letter from Hogwarts. I knew I was just a muggle (that's what the books called non-magical people like me), but that didn't stop me from trying some of the spells in the books. They never worked though, probably because I didn't have a wand.

I knew I could only go to Hogwarts in my dream. That was, until one morning as I was about to leave, I noticed a letter in the mail pile addressed to me. From Hogwarts.

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading!**

 **Please review if you liked it! And I'm always open to comments/constructive criticism/ideas/suggestions.**

 **And as I said above, I'm looking for a Beta Reader. PM me in interested!**


	2. Year One: Sorting

**Hello again!**

 **It's Year One at Hogwarts. Which house will Athena be sorted into? What will she think of Albus, Scorpius, and Rose? Read and find out!**

 **(obviously I don't own Harry Potter)**

* * *

 **Year One: Sorting**

* * *

I'm going to Hogwarts! I'm not a muggle! I'm a witch!

I had already picked up all my school supplies from Diagon Alley. Once I managed to exchange my muggle money for wizarding money at Gringotts, it was easy for find everything considering that I was already familiar with Diagon alley, and even more familiar with the book store. (In fact, I had already read all the books on my school list).

And thankfully I had saved up a lot of money, because I don't think my mum wanted to pay for school robes or books. She didn't even want me going to school until I told her it was free. She kept thinking I was crazy when I talked about 'wizarding school' so I eventually told her that I just applied for a free scholarship to some fancy boarding school. She bought it. Really, as long as I'm out of the house, I think she'd be fine with it.

It was time for me to head to platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station. I had packed my trunk the night before, and I slept with my new wand, Beech, 11 ½", Unicorn Hair.

The station was crowded, and the platform between 9 and 10 was even more crowded. I had looked up how to get onto the platform, but reading about running straight through a wall and actually doing it were two very different things.

"Dad. He keeps saying it."

"James, give it a rest."

"I only said he might be in Slytherin"

As if it was fate, it was the same family that I followed into the Leaky Cauldron two years ago. How ironic that I would now follow them through the platform again. If anything, they would give me the confidence to actually run at the wall.

One cart after the other, they made a run for the wall. It was now or never, so I ran in right after them.

'Wow' was my only thought. The Hogwarts express was in front of me. If this was a dream, I didn't want to wake up. I had almost forgotten all about the family, until I heard some students talking.

"Is that Harry Potter?"

"Yea, his youngest son, Albus, is a first year. Also Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley's daughter, Rose."

"Awesome. Do you think they'd sign something for me?"

I stopped listening. I'm sure Harry Potter didn't want to be signing autographs when he was sending his son off to Hogwarts.

Harry Potter. I had read about him. He is all over history books as 'The Boy Who Lived' and the boy who defeated Voldemort once and for all. He looked so much different then the pictures in the books. Older. But then again, it was practically 20 years since he defeated Voldemort.

And Albus Potter was the boy who gave me a Galleon two years ago. And he was in my year.

I didn't want to ponder the Potter family anymore. Students were still saying goodbye to their families, but as I didn't have any, I made my way to the train.

I was one of the first on, so I quickly stowed my trunk, and found an empty compartment. Looking out the window, I could see the Potter and Granger-Weasley family saying goodbye to their kids as they boarded the train.

My thoughts were interrupted by three other first year girls asking if they could sit in my compartment. Of course I said yes. The three of them seemed to already know each other. Probably from wizarding families. They asked my name, but soon after carried on with a conversation that they had been in the middle of, leaving me left out. It was alright though. I didn't have a lot of experience talking to kids my own age, so I would not have know what to say. Besides, I was too excited about going to Hogwarts, and I didn't want the other students to think I was weird.

* * *

The train had only been moving for about 30 minutes when Rose Granger-Weasley gracefully entered our compartment and made her introduction.

"Hello! I'm Rose Granger-Weasley. Nice to meet you!"

She sat on the bench, and asked for everyone else's names. When she started asking about the wizarding family names she recognized, I started zoning out. It wasn't until the compartment went quiet that I realized Rose had asked for my name.

"Oh. I'm Athena Grant"

"Grant? Are you related to Anthony Grant, who domesticated the venomous tentacula?" Rose perked up at this.

"Umm. No. I don't think so. But also, Anthony Grant didn't domesticate the tentacula. But he did discover many of the uses for it's leaves."

I realized as soon as I said it that I shouldn't have. For a split second, Rose looked angry that I had corrected her. She quickly changed the expression on her face, but I didn't miss it. "Of course, how silly of me."

"Easy mistake. I shouldn't have corrected you"

"So who is your family?"

"Umm… I don't come from a wizarding family."

Rose's cheeks went pink for a second, clearly embarrassed that she had forgotten about muggle-borns like me. "Oh. My mother is muggle born too. Hermione Granger. But I'm sure you know that."

I did know that. I read about Hermione Granger. She was the top of her class. And I'm sure Rose expects to follow in her mother's footsteps.

But I was surprised by Rose, and I wasn't exactly buying her act. The other first years in the compartment were clinging to Rose's every word, eager for the chance to be friends with the daughter of the famous Ron and Hermione. And it was clear to me that Rose was gauging the group to see if these girls were worthy of her friendship.

She clearly grew up more privileged than her parents. And although she is now using their names to make friends, I wonder what she would have thought of her own parents had they been first years. Muggle-born and hand-me-down clothes. Misfits. From the performance I'm seeing, they would not have been her top picks.

"Well I must be off. I want to meet everyone before we get to Hogwarts. But you guys might want to change into your robes soon. I think we are almost there."

We took her advice and changed. I was so excited to finally be in my Hogwarts robes. I had been waiting a month to wear them. (I would never admit it out loud, but some nights I would put on my robes, stare in the mirror, and pretend like I was already at Hogwarts).

Once we changed, the girls were gossiping all about Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and how Rose and Albus were going to be in their classes with them. I didn't get what the fuss was, and decided not to contribute to conversation (not like I was contributing before either).

I just stared out the window anxiously waiting until we arrived.

* * *

I didn't know what to expect as we walked into the Great Hall. I had read about it, but the words didn't compare to how beautiful the ceiling looked. It almost made me not notice the other 250 students seated at the four long tables. But of course, all of their eyes were on us, the 40 or so first years who were anxiously waiting to be sorted.

I heard murmurs come from the tables and the other first years.

"Albus Potter"

"A Potter. In our year."

"He's got his hair. He's got hair just like him"

I spotted Albus in front of me, standing with his cousin. Rose looked excited, but Albus seemed to be trying to avoid the seeking eyes of his peers. I felt bad for him. He didn't ask for all the attention, and he didn't seem to want it, unlike Rose.

 _I've done this job_ _for centuries  
On every student's head I've sat  
Of thoughts I take inventories  
For I'm the famous Sorting Hat._

 _I've sorted high, I've sorted low,  
I've done the job through thick and thin  
So put me on and you will know  
Which house you should be in…_

Professor McGonagall held the list of first years in her hand, waiting to call out each name.

"RAVENCLAW!" "SLYTHERIN!" "GRYFFINDOR!" "HUFFLEPUFF!" The sorting hat called one for each of the students as they went up. I was too nervous about my own sorting to focus on who was being sorted where.

"Rose Granger-Weasley"

I snapped attention when I heard Professor McGonagall announce her name. Partly because I wanted to know what house Rose was sorted into, and partly because I knew Grant would most likely be right after Granger.

McGonagall placed the sorting hat on her head, but it only took a second for the hat to shout out "GRYFFINDOR!"

Of course she would be sorted into the house of her parents. There were hoots coming from the Gryffindor table, most likely from the massive amount of Weasley cousins I knew were also in Gryffindor.

"Athena Grant"

That was me. I was terrified that my feet were just not going to move, but instead I found my body moving on it's own. McGonagall placed the aorting hat on my head.

 _Hmmm. Where to put you? I can see you are not Slytherin nor Gryffindor. It is Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff which suits you. You are Kind and Loyal as Hufflepuffs, and hard working too, but you also have a love of learning and intellect which aligns with Ravenclaw. Hmmm. Where to put you?_

I had no idea where I wanted to be. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw both made sense. I had read about all four houses and the wizards that founded each. For some reason though, Ravenclaw intimidated me though.

 _Intimidated by Ravenclaw, you say? I can see that in your head. You don't like the competitive nature. Well if Ravenclaw isn't for you, then it must be…_

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

I smiled and made my way to the Hufflepuff table where I was welcomed, not as loudly as Rose was, but I was thankful for that. Only one other classmate had been sorted into Hufflepuff so far.

I took a seat next to the Hufflepuff second years. The next student's name was called, and the second years started whispering.

"5 knuts on Ravenclaw." "No, I'm feeling Gryffindor." "Hufflepuff" "Slytherin"

They were all putting various amounts of money on the table. Betting on the sorting of the first years? It sounded cruel, but it was actually pretty entertaining to watch.

"RAVENCLAW!" The boy who won the bet looked excited as he pulled the money towards him. But I'm sure by the end of the sorting, he will have lost most of it again.

And so the betting continued. Every once in awhile, the students recognized a wizarding family name, and no one would want to bet against it.

"Scorpius Malfoy," McGonagall called, was once such name.

"Slytherin, obviously." The boy said, and everyone agreed. No one bet against Slytherin so no one put any money down.

I started hearing murmurs from all around, but especially the neighboring Gryffindor table, "Voldemort's Son" and "Belongs in Slytherin." That confused me. Scorpius Malfoy was the son of Draco Malfoy. But there was a buzz of rumours going around. I felt a little bad for Scorpius, but then again, I knew nothing about him.

The hat had barely touched his head when it called out "SLYTHERIN!"

"Shocker," the Hufflepuff second years muttered as the Slytherin house cheered for their new housemate.

McGonagall continued along with reading out names, and the upperclassmen continued betting on which house each would be sorted into.

"Albus Potter"

There were murmurs from all around of Harry Potter's second son. The Gryffindors were all excited, expecting to get another Potter in their house.

"Well this one's easy. Gryffindor." Everyone seemed to agree.

I don't know what it was, but I just remember overhearing Albus's brother teasing him about being sorted in Slytherin. My body had done it before my brain even had time to catch up. I reached into the pocket and pulled out some change, and laid it out on the table in from the the group of betting second years.

"Slytherin," I said. They all looked at me like I was crazy.

"Are you sure, first year? We don't want to take your money unfairly."

Actually, the money wasn't mine. It happened to be the change left over from when Albus gave me ice cream money two years ago. I had it in my pocket, intending to return it to him after I recognized him on the platform, but I didn't have the courage to approach him about it. And now, I don't think I'll get the chance.

The second years were all staring at me, and so were a few of the first years that could hear what was going on.

"A bet is a bet." I answered, hoping they understood that I wasn't going to back down now.

I realized that the sorting hat was taking a while for Albus Potter. Perhaps the choice of Gryffindor wasn't so obvious, or else would the hat have chosen already? Maybe I wouldn't be losing this money.

"Well ok then." A few of them pulled out money to put on Gryffindor.

It felt like it was taking forever, but perhaps it just seemed long now because I had money riding on it.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The hall was silent for a good couple seconds. And the look on Albus face was pure shock. Murmur started again, much louder than before.

"Slytherin?"

"Whoa! A Potter? In Slytherin."

"I guess his hair isn't that similar."

McGonagall had to usher Albus off the stage and hush the crowd. Scorpius was all smiles as Albus came and sat next to him. And Rose was shocked and upset, as was the rest of Gryffindor.

"Wow, first year. You really know how to call them," the second year said as he passed the pile of money over to me.

I almost didn't want the money. I felt bad that I had profited off of Albus's misfortune.

* * *

The Hufflepuff prefects led us down to the kitchens and showed us how to enter the Hufflepuff common rooms by taping barrels in a specific order and rhythm. We each had to try it out, but I don't think one boy was listening, because he tapped the barrels too quickly, and got doused in vinegar. After that, everyone was sure to remember how to enter correctly.

To the left, the boys were led to their rooms, and on the right I went with the rest of the girls. There were five of us, and five four-poster beds, each with it's own unique patchwork quilt. Our trunks were already beside our beds, as well as Hufflepuff sweaters, gloves, and scarves.

I ran over to my bed and flopped down. It was so comfy and homey. More homey than at home. This place was better than Matilda or anything I'd ever imagined. And classed hadn't even started yet. I never wanted to leave.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are always welcome (encouraged, in fact!)**

 **Also, if anyone is interested in becoming my Beta Reader, PM me. I have some great ideas for where I want this story to go, but I'd like a second opinion.**


	3. Year One: Christmas

**Hello! Another chapter for you!**

 **(Obviously I don't own Harry Potter)**

* * *

 **Year One: Christmas**

* * *

I wasn't very good at making friends. I never knew what to say, so I stayed quiet most of the time. Thankfully the Hufflepuffs hung around together, and they didn't mind me tagging along too. Plus, I think they really liked that I was always able to help them with their homework. And I never minded helping people, in fact, I really liked it.

Potions and Charms were my favorite classes. Potions because I had read so many books on Potions and it was just so fascinating. And Charms, well that was because we had Charms with Gryffindor, and I didn't want to gloat, but I really liked outshining Rose.

As always, the first spell first years would learn in Charms was the Levitation spell. Professor Flitwick went over the correct want movement - swish and flick - and then he handed out feathers.

I could hear Rose gloating from across the room. "My mother was the first one in her class to levitate the feather. She said, 'it's all about correct dictation.'"

But while she bragging to her band of loyal followers, I was actually doing the spell.

"Wingardium Leviosa"

"Ms. Grant, that is wonderful!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed.

Everyone in the room turned to see me levitating my feather. Including Rose with scowl on her face. I'm sure she wanted to be the first one to get it right.

The truth was, every night since we arrived at Hogwarts, I had been too excited to sleep. I would close the curtains to my bed, Lumos my wand, and start re-reading my textbooks (I had already read them all before). I couldn't exactly make a potion in bed, and Transfiguration would take some more practice than just reading (although I did try), but Charm was easy. In fact I had mastered the spells in the first chapter of 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1' before the first Charms class.

Plus, levitation was what Matilda could do, so I really wanted to learn that spell.

* * *

The rest of my classes were good too.

We had flying with Ravenclaw, and although I could mount my broom, I realized very quickly that I was afraid of heights. In my opinion, if people were meant to fly, we would have been born with wings.

I liked Herbology. Well I should say that I liked the knowledge of Herbology. It was useful for knowing the uses of plants in potions. But I was not a huge fan of the actual gardening and dirt. Professor Longbottom was very nice though and very good at teaching. Also, Hufflepuff had Herbology with Slytherin, meaning with Albus and Scorpius. I didn't understand why the rest of the Slytherin house had shunned them, but they were always alone but with each other.

* * *

History of Magic was our last class before the Christmas break started. I was very interested in History of Magic, even though Professor Binns' class was boring. I had always loved reading muggle history books at my local public library.

Everyone was anxious for class end and break to start. But of course right before class was over, Professor Binns assigned an essay, due when break was over. All the Hufflepuffs groaned, but I was secretly excited.

I was staying at school for the break, and I was already planning on spending all my time in the library (I already spent most of my time in there already. There were just too many books to read).

When class was dismissed, I assured my classmates that I would help them edit their essays after the break. (I also knew that a few of them would come back from break with nothing written, but I was expecting it and would help out the same).

Before we could arrive back to the Hufflepuff Basement, a girl in Slytherin robes, who looked older then us first years, approached us.

"I'm suppose to deliver this too…" She checked the name on the envelope, "Athena Grant."

"Um. That's me." I timidly answered. The girl handed me a scroll with a purple ribbon tied around it, and walked away without another word.

"Well open it!" Millie, one of my dorm-mates exclaimed. All the Hufflepuff first years were surrounding me, wanting to know what the scroll was for.

 _Ms. Athena Grant,  
_ _You are cordially invited to the Slug Club Christmas Party.  
_ _Tonight at 7pm, Professor Slughorn's Office, Plus ones are encouraged.  
_ _Sincerely,  
_ _Professor H. E. F. Slughorn_

"Well what does it say!" Millie asked again. I decided to just hand her the invitation. She read it out loud.

All of a sudden, everyone was talking to me from all sides.

"You have to go!"

"First years hardly ever get invited to the Slug Club."

"No wonder you got invited! You're at the top of our class! You're doing even better then Rose Granger-Weasley." (And I was secretly proud of that fact, although I tried to hide it.)

"So, who are you going to take as a date?" Peggy, another one of my dorm-mates, asked getting the attention of everyone. All of the boy's eyes suddenly perked up.

"Uh, I don't know. Do I need to bring a date?"

"Of course you need to bring a date," Millie interjected, "And it has to be someone good. Someone who will make an impression. Sorry boys, but I'm afraid none of you will do."

I saw a few of their faces drop. Not because they wanted to go with me, but because they wanted to go to an elusive Slug Club Party.

We walked to the Hufflepuff Basement, and all the while Peggy and Millie gossiped about who I could bring as a date. If they wanted to find a date for me, I wouldn't argue. But I decided not to listen to their chatter.

When we entered the Hufflepuff common room, everyone headed straight to their dorms. I was about to as well, but Peggy and Millie pulled me aside.

"We have the perfect date for you," Millie said excitedly.

They pulled me over to a table where one boy, a second year, was sitting.

"Athena, this is Lysander Scamander. Lysander, this is Athena Grant."

"Uh, hi?" He said looking confused. I was equally unsure of what to do, but thankfully it seemed like Millie would do all the talking for me.

"So Athena has received an elusive invitation to the Slug Club Christmas Party tonight. We were hoping you could accompany her there."

Millie seemed so confident that I think it stunned Lysander a bit. All he could say was, "Um".

"You know," Peggy said, continuing to convince him, "Athena is a first year, and first years rarely get Slug Club invitations. So you know Athena has got to be really amazing."

"Um," he said again.

I could feel my face getting hot, and probably turning a dark shade of red. "Guys, he clearly doesn't want to go with a first year," I said to Peggy and Millie, and quickly, while looking down, I muttered, "Sorry for interrupting you."

I turned to leave and tried to make a run for it, but I felt a tug on the back of my robes and turned back around.

"I'll go with you." It was Lysander. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just stutter back there. I just wasn't prepared for onslaught of questions." He smiled, letting me know it was OK.

"Yea, sorry about that. It wasn't my idea, but Peggy and Millie are insistent."

"Then it's settled!" Millie exclaimed. They seemed to appeared out of nowhere beside me and started dragging me away to the girl's dorms.

"You can meet Athena in the Common room at 6:45 to escort her to the Party. Dress sharp!" Peggy practically yelled as they dragged me away.

Dress Sharp! "I have nothing to wear!" I suddenly realized out loud.

"Oh don't you worry, we can help with that."

And they really did. Peggy lent me a pretty purple dress, and Millie did my hair and makeup. I looked in the mirror and barely recognized myself (In a good way). I had never worn makeup before, and usually I just brushed my hair and it did whatever it wanted. But somehow Millie had 'tamed the beast'.

At 6:45 sharp, I went down to the common room. Lysander was already down there waiting. And he did look sharp in his black dress robes.

"Wow, you look beautiful," He said when he saw me. "Shall we go?" He said as he offered me his arm. What a gentleman, I thought.

When we arrived to Professor Slughorn's office, the party was just getting started and everyone was just arriving.

Slughorn was greeting his guests, "Ah, Ms. Grant! I'm so glad you could come! And who did you bring with you?"

"This is Lysander Scamander." I said

"Scamander? Are you related to Newton Scamander by chance?"

"He's my great-grandfather, actually," Lysander answered, cheeks a little pink.

"No kidding. Athena, did you know Lysander's great-grandfather, Newt Scamander, is the famous Magizoologist, known for his book 'Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them'?" Slughorn seemed very excited by this news. I wouldn't be surprised if Lysander got his own invitation to the next Slug Club event.

"I actually did know that. And I read his book. It was great. I loved his notes on what parts of magical creatures could be used in potions," I said excitedly. I loved talking to Professor Slughorn about potions.

"As did I. Lysander, did you know that Athena is one of my top potions students. Even as a first year, she is already better than some of my second and third years." I blushed. I never liked to brag. "Well I must greet my other guests. It was so nice meeting you Lysander."

Once Slughorn had moved on, Lysander spoke up, "So did you really know that Newt Scamander was my great-grandfather?"

"Yea. But it wasn't that hard to put together. I can't imagine Scamander is very common last name."

"And you really read it? I haven't even read it yet. It's only required for third years that decide to take Care of Magical Creatures."

"Well I've read practically the whole library." Lysander gave me a questioning look, "Ok, thats a lie. I've only read about a quarter." He was still giving me that look, "What? I like reading."

Lysander and I continued mingling with other guests. Thankfully Lysander was sociable, because if not, I would have just stood quietly in the corner all night.

"Ms. Granger-Weasley! I'm so glad you could make it!" I overheard Professor Slughorn say. I hadn't noticed that Rose was here. She must have just arrived, and very late at that. "I don't suppose you know if Albus Potter will be joining us this evening?"

Of course Albus had also received and invitation. "No, I don't think think he cares much for parties," Rose answered.

"Oh, that's too bad. I was so excited to get a Potter in my house. But whenever I try to talk to him after potions class, he always runs right out of the room with that Malfoy boy."

Slughorn started looking around the room, so I had to pretend I was not just eavesdropping.

"Ms. Grant?" Slughorn spotted me. I was not quick enough to turn away, and we made eye contact so I had no choice but to go to him. "There you are. Have you met Rose Granger-Weasley."

"Yes, we have Charms together."

"Oh how wonderful! Then I'm sure you also know of her mother, Hermione Granger. She was in my Slug Club too when she was a student here." Rose seemed very proud of that fact. "In fact, Athena, you reminded me a lot of a young Hermione Granger." Rose's face dropped a little, but I don't think I could hide that my smile grew.

* * *

When the party died down, Lysander and I walked back to the Hufflepuff Basement while chatting.

It turns out that he would be staying at Hogwarts over the Holiday break because his mother and father were travelling. Searching for 'Nargles' or 'Wackspurts' or something like that. Also, he has a twin brother, Lorcan, in Ravenclaw like his mother (but his father was in Hufflepuff).

I supposed I would probably meet Lorcan some time over the break. We didn't make an definitive plans, but Lysander definitely implied that we would hang out.

When we arrived back to the Hufflepuff Basement, we said goodbye and went our separate ways.

* * *

 **Review to let me know what you think!**

 **Especially of Lysander. I was looking for a character for Athena to take to the party, and as soon as I thought of Lysander, my mind just ran with it and didn't stop.  
** **Should I include more Lysander? Less Lysander? Please let me know.**

 **And don't worry. There will be more Albus and Scorpius in future chapters :D**


	4. Year One: Exams and Breaks

**Finally another chapter. Grad school is keeping me too busy.**

* * *

 **Year One: Exams and Breaks**

* * *

I was looking forward to Christmas break. All the quiet library time. I really enjoyed the time to myself. It reminded me, in a good way, of how it was before my Hogwarts letter came.

I even decided to take a day off from the library. I went outside, made a snow fort, and Lysander and his brother snuck up on me with a snowball fight. It was a lot of fun.

Of course, the break flew by. I had finished my History of Magic essay on the second day of break. Lysander even offered to read it over for me (he said it was better than anything he ever wrote. I wasn't sure if he was just being nice).

When the students arrived back on the Hogwarts express, I was kept busy helping my Hufflepuffs with their essays.

Of course Peggy and Millie, who both had very little of their essays done, only wanted to gossip about how my 'date' with Lysander went. I insisted it was not a date, but we were friends now, although apparently I didn't give them enough details. It wasn't until I told them that I wouldn't help them with their essays if they were just going to gossip that they finally stopped badgering me about it.

* * *

Life at Hogwarts went back to normal, except now instead of reading in the library alone, I would sometimes sit with Lysander. He insisted that it was in case I wanted help on any homework, but more often than not, I was the one who ended up helping him.

It wasn't long before exams were upon us. The Hufflepuffs all wanted my help studying, and I helped as much as I could, but sometimes I wanted some alone time (I had to study for my exams too). The library was no longer a safe hiding space. It was the first place people looked when they wanted to find me. I had taken to hiding in the astronomy tower when I wanted some alone time. It was getting warmer and the views were beautiful at this time of year.

But today, when I went to hide out, I found myself thinking of Albus and James. I don't know what I was thinking of them. Maybe because I just saw Albus and Scorpius sitting in the courtyard alone again. Or maybe because I passes James and the Gryffindor Quidditch team as they were headed to practice.

Over the school year I couldn't help but notice how different the two of them were. I saw Albus in class, always only with Scorpius. It didn't take a genius to tell that the other Slytherins didn't seem to like the two of them. And in class, Albus always performed sub-par. I assumed it was because he didn't try. I saw Scorpius and Albus in the library sometimes. Scorpius would always be reading or doing homework, while Albus would be twiddling his thumbs or just sleeping.

As far as I could tell, James was the complete opposite. And not just because he was in Gryffindor. James was popular - on the quidditch team and loads of friends - and he was well liked by all the teachers, even the Headmaster (but I knew Professor McGonagall was a friend of the Potters. I'm sure James knew her well before he came to Hogwarts).

I also saw James at a few of the Slug Club events too. And Slughorn would always try to get James to convince Albus to come to an event. James would always say he'd try, but I had a feeling James hardly ever talked to Albus.

"So is this where you've been hiding out?"

I looked over to the sound of the voice. It was Lysander. Thank goodness. If it was one of the first years, I would have had to find a whole new hiding space.

"Yea. The library has been invaded because of exam season." I held up the Transfiguration textbook from my lap to show what I had been studying.

Lysander said no more. He just sat down next to me and pulled his own textbook out of his bag and starting studying as well.

* * *

Exams came and passed. I really enjoyed the exams, but I'm sure I was the only one. Even Scorpius and Rose, who I know both also love school, were happy that exams were over and that they would be going home for the summer. But for me, summer break just meant that I had to leave Hogwarts for two whole months.

It was a week later that we all received our exam grades. After getting back our Charms exams, Rose loudly said, "I got a hundred and twenty percent! I must be top of the class."

All the Gryffindors flocked to Rose, but I think by now most of the Hufflepuffs saw through Rose's charade. Millie came over and looked over my shoulder to see my exam grade.

Loud enough for Rose and the other Gryffindors to hear, Millie said, "Look at this Peggy. Athena got a one hundred and FIFTY percent on her exam." Then she looked right at Rose, "She must be top of the class."

Rose puffed and stormed away with the rest of her gang. I could tell my cheeks were pink, but secretly I was glad Millie knocked Rose down a notch on my behalf.

* * *

All too soon it was time to board the Hogwarts Express and go home. It didn't feel real. The train ride was agonizing.

When the train arrived back at King's Cross, I found my trunk and started my walk home. Everyone was finding and hugging their families. Introducing new friends to their parents. I had neither friends nor parents. I only just realized my mum probably didn't know I would be come home today.

"Hold up!" I heard in the distance. I just kept walking. It was probably not for me. "Athena! Wait!"

Oh. It was for me. I turned around trying to find where and who the voice came from. It was Lysander.

Before I knew what was happening, he wrap his arms around me in a hug.

"Hey," he said once he released me, "I wanted to say goodbye before you left."

"Oh. Goodbye."

"I'll write to you. If you want I mean."

A smile broke out onto my face. "I'd like that."

* * *

 **Whoo end of Year One!**

 **I didn't mean for year one to take 3 chapters. I want to get to year four when the real action starts, but in my head characters keep telling me more things in their first second and third years.**


	5. Year Two: Back to School,Back to Potions

**Whoo! Another chapter! onto Year two!**

 **Also, I'm so excited about the new Fantastic Beasts movie! I'm seeing it tomorrow, so hopefully it'll inspire me to write more!**

* * *

 **Year Two: Back to School, Back to Potions**

* * *

Home was exactly how I remembered it. Bland and not homey at all. Nothing compared to the warmness of the Hufflepuff basement.

As expected, mum wasn't exactly thrilled to have me back for the summer. I think she enjoyed the last few month of being kid free again. I tried to stay out of the house as long as possible.

I'd fallen into old habits again, going to Diagon alley everyday. Except now I belonged there.

I got a job. I needed one, as mum had stopped leaving money out for me. I started working at Flourish and Blotts. I was only 12, but I was so familiar with the store, and Professor Slughorn called in a favor for me (I guess being in the Slug club would really pay off). And I think I was doing a good job. Plus I got to read all the books I wanted when the store wasn't busy.

Slughorn may have once said that I reminded him of Hermione, but if there was one way that we differed, it was that I didn't care about the rules as much as she did. I was in Diagon Alley, a place full of over aged wizards. I knew about the Trace, but in Diagon Alley they would have no idea who did the magic. It made practicing over the summer easy.

I got a few letters over the summer. Mostly from Lysander. He was travelling with his family. He send me a picture from Scandinavia of him, his brother, mother, and father, all sitting on the back of a large beast. But surprisingly I also got a letter from Millie and a few of my other Hufflepuffs.

The school year wouldn't come fast enough. I was so thrilled when my second year supply list arrived in the mail. I didn't waste any time in buying my new books and other requirements.

It felt like the summer lasted forever, but finally it was September 1st and I was headed back to Hogwarts!

* * *

This year I had no problem running through a wall to get to platform 9 ¾. The platform was full of families saying their goodbyes and friends finding each other before they got on the train. I when I finally made it onto the train and stowed my belongings, tons of students were already running amuck.

"Athena!" I heard my name, and turned towards it. It was Millie. She and a few other Hufflepuffs second years had gotten a compartment. I started walking towards her (although it was a struggle with all the students trying to get through.)

I caught sight of Lysander on the way, heading to a compartment with a group of third years. He didn't notice me though so I continued towards the second years.

The train hadn't even left yet, but when I entered the compartment, everyone was already jumping into stories of their summers. I had nothing interesting to say so I sat closest to the window and looked at all the families still saying their goodbyes.

I spotted Harry and Albus Potter in what didn't look like the loveliest goodbyes. In fact it looked like Albus was trying to run away from his father as fast as he could. And he did the first chance he got, leaving Harry Potter looking defeated.

I kept watching, wondering about Albus. Maybe this somewhat explains his attitude in school. I then noticed Draco Malfoy stroll up to Harry. This was not a usual sight. It was common knowledge that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had not been friendly at Hogwarts. And now their sons were best friends. The situation must be very awkward for all involved I would think. I didn't know what their conversation was, but it ended just as I expected, with Draco huffing and storming away.

I turned my attention back to my classmates. None of them had noticed what was going on outside. Finally the train started pulling forward and I was heading back to Hogwarts. When we were finally close enough to see the castle, it felt like I was home again.

* * *

While everyone was excited to be back at Hogwarts, no one seemed to want classes to start. That is, except me of course.

I was so excited when prefects handed out schedules. I eagerly scanned over it. Double Potions with Slytherin. At least my favorite class wasn't with Gryffindor, because I'm sure Rose would find a way to ruin it for me. We had Herbology with Rose though, so I'm sure she'd suck up to Professor Longbottom since her parents were friends with him.

It didn't make it any better that Rose was the new chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team. Second years rarely made in onto the house teams (and Harry Potter was the last first year to do it), so she was going to draw out this accomplishment for a while.

I was excited for Potions. Professor Slughorn gave me a list of potions books I should read over the summer, and I read and annotated them all.

However, the first potions class was not exactly great. While I disliked Gryffindor the most because of Rose and her minions, there were still plenty of dislikable people in Slytherin. You know, the typical bullies, Polly Chapman and Karl Jenkins.

We were working with partners. I was with Augustus Green, one of my fellow Hufflepuffs who was also rather quiet, but at least not totally incompetent. Unfortunately Polly and Karl choose the cauldron next to us, which meant we could hear all their gossiping, or more like taunting, of Albus and Scorpius, who happened to be at the desk in front of us.

"Albus Potter. An irrelevance. Even portraits turn the other way when he comes up the stairs," Polly sneered. Karl laughed along with her.

I don't know if Albus heard, or if he was just use to it and learned to ignore it. Either way, he went on as if he didn't hear it, discussing the potion with Scorpius, "And now we add - is it horn of bicorn?"

"Leave him and Voldemort's child to it, I say," Karl said to Polly.

"With just a little salamander blood..." Wrong I thought. But he already added it. The potion exploded loudly and Polly and Karl snickered more.

"Okay. What's the counter-ingredient? What do we need to change?" Scorpius says encouragingly. I think he can see that his best friend's composure declining. It must be hard to endure all this teasing on a daily basis.

"Everything." Albus says dejectedly.

Slowly, their potion starts pouring over the edge of their cauldron, burning everything it touched in the process. It's only then that Professor Slughorn notices the commotion coming from our side of the room.

"Ms. Grant," he motions to me, "Would you mind helping Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy with their potion?"

"Sure." I leave Augustus to attend our cauldron. We're already ahead of the rest of the class, so I just tell him to make sure it doesn't start bubbling. Bubbling would be bad in this case.

Albus and Scorpius eye me as I come to their table. I realize that this is the first proper interaction I've had with either of them (if you don't count with Albus in Diagon Alley when I was 9).

I peer into their cauldron, trying not to get too close to the sludge that is slowly covering their whole table and dripping onto the floor. Then I run over to the ingredient cabinet and return with some bantha salts. I sprinkle a decent amount in their cauldron and then a bit on the surrounding sludge. It immediately fizzes but then quickly stops expanding all together. I wave my wand, "Scourgify", and the mess vanishes.

Finally I acknowledge the two boys that are staring at me.

"How'd you know to do that?" Scorpius asks me, looking at the bottle of salt in my hand and flipping through the required potions book.

"It's not in there. Bantha salts. They're very useful for neutralizing volatile potions. Like a base neutralizing an acid." They both just stared at me, maybe not understanding my reference to muggle chemistry. I wasn't sure what to do about their staring, so I just kept talking. "They're also useful if you think someone's trying to poison you. Sprinkle some in your drink or over your food and most poisons will be neutralized." They continued to stare. Clearly my fun fact wasn't as fun as I thought...

"What book did you read that in?" Scorpius asked, but at the same time, Albus said, "isn't the Scouring spell a 4th year charm?"

Before I could answer either, I heard Augustus call for me. "Athena! It's bubbling!" Oh no!

"I'm sorry but you'll have to start over," I said to Albus and Scorpius as I ran back to my own station to fix whatever Augustus did.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, I walked past the Hufflepuff table and towards the end of the Slytherin table where the two boys were excluded from the rest. They didn't notice I was approaching until I slid a book in front of Scorpius. ' _A Herbologist Guide to Potion Making'_

Scorpius and Albus looked up at me confused.

"What is this?" Scorpius asked.

"You asked me yesterday how I knew about bantha salts. Slughorn suggested some books for me to read over the summer, this being one of them. I thought maybe you'd like to borrow it."

Scorpius's face broke out into a smile, as if I had just given him the best present in the world. "That would be wonderful. Thanks!"

I didn't want to stick around. I could already see people staring at my in my peripheral vision, wondering why I was talking to the 'loser Slytherins.' I quickly left and walked back over to the Hufflepuff table.

"What were you doing talking to Scorpius and Albus," Millie asked. Even as accepting as the Hufflepuffs usually are, there was still a tone of distaste in Millie's voice. The rest of the Hufflepuffs were also staring at me questioningly.

"Slughorn asked me to help them with potions, so I was giving them a book." They seemed to accept this answer and move on with the conversation. Thank Merlin. That wasn't entirely truthful. Slughorn did ask me to help them yesterday in class, but it was believable that he would ask me to help more.

And I was willing to help, I helped my fellow Hufflepuffs all the time. But none of my Hufflepuffs were as enthused about books as I was. But Scorpius was, and that was something new for me.

* * *

It was about a week later when I was leaving potions that Scorpius, with Albus in tow, ran to catch up with me.

"Athena!" I turned to see the two of them jogging down the corridor towards me. When they caught up with me, Scorpius pulled two books from his bag. One was the book I lent him, the other I didn't recognize. "Here's your book. Thanks for lending it to me," he said as he handed it back to me.

"Did you finish reading it all?" I asked.

"No, but I asked my father to buy me my own copy because it was so useful for our first potions homework, and I figured you'd want your copy back."

"Ok, thanks. What's the other book?" I asked curiously.

"Oh right. I thought, since you lent me a book, the least I could do is lend you a book too." He handed it to me. ' _Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes.'_ "I don't know if you've read it or not. But Albus mentioned that Rose was complaining all summer about you besting her in Charms last year, so I thought you might like it. I thought it was a very interesting read. At least for a history nerd like me."

I looked at Albus, and joked, "Well I did like besting Rose at charms." Albus finally cracked a smile. I think it's the first time I've seen him smile too.

I stared back at the book and started flipping through the first few pages. "Thank you. I haven't read this yet."

Scorpius smiled, clearly satisfied with my reaction to it, "borrow it as long as you want. I don't need it back any time soon." And then he, and Albus following, walked away in the direction of the Slytherin Dungeons.

Somehow, the book exchange between me and Scorpius became a thing. When I returned his book, I decided to lend him another, and then he did the same, and so on. It was weird. I don't think either of us would consider each other to be friends. We didn't talk to each other and we never hung out. We only exchanged pleasantries when we exchanged the next book. But I guess we were book friends? And having a book friend was nice.

* * *

 **Yay! Thanks for reading! I'm going to have one or two more year two chapters. Then some year three. And then finally we'll be at the infamous year four!**

 **Reviews are like cookies, and I love cookies! (too cheesy? Well I like cheese too so...)**


	6. Revamp in Progress

Hey readers, if there are any of you out there.

Thank you so much for reading my little ole' story this far.

I kind of abandoned this story last winter when school was getting rough, but I've been working on revamping it, which includes doing a complete overhaul of the story to fix a lot of my writing, as well as removing some mary sue elements from athena... hehe... also, i'm changing her name to Emma... hehe..

(Because a) athena is too magical a name for a muggle, and b) because its a revamp so I can)

I had a Beta for rewriting the prologue and ch1, but life got busy for both of us back then... so if anyone is interested in beta-ing. hit me up.

I will update this story once I rewrite all the chapters that I've posted so far, HOWEVER, I am also going to post this story on AO3 under the same title (my username is plutoisaplanet). I will be updating the AO3 story as I rewrite each chapter, and the prologue is posted now! So check it out!

[slash]works[slash]11759262[slash]chapters[s;ash]26506464

(replace dot and slashes)

Thanks again for reading up to this point!


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